Charging problem on Powermatic again..

[Captain Morgan]

Since the Hardware room is temporarily locked due to renovations, I thought I'd ask the question here.. About 6 weeks ago I had an issue with my Powermatic not keeping it's charge. I replaced the regulator on it and it seemed to run fine.

Had a cleaning job about 2 weeks ago and it shut down on me half way through. Tried to restart it but wouldn't catch so I let it sit while I paced outside behind the van... After about 10 minutes it restarted and ran fine the rest of the job. This Friday, cleaning some furniture.. finished the couch and same thing happened. Tried to restart and the battery sounded like it was getting drained. I let it rest for about 10 minutes, while I sat in the van to dry myself off a bit due to heavy rain. After about 15-20 minutes she started back up and I finished with no problems.

Saturday, cleaned 2 couches, loveseat, chair and livingroom carpet... not a problem. I was psyched thinking maybe it was just because it has sat quite a bit becaues business has been down? Today, I wanted to do a little maintenence and it wouldn't start. Grabbed the jumper cables, hooked up to the van battery.. started right up. Turned off the machine, unhooked the cables.. wouldn't start? Hooked it back up to the van battery and she started right up?

Has my regulator crapped out already or is it time to replace the stator?

 

[Nate The Great]

Hey Bill, I replaced my voltage regulator. It had a fried pin. It took me about 5 mins to get the connection loose. Seems to be working ok (crossing fingers)... I too would jump it straight from the battery but was advised that it's not good for the small engines. It would start everytime from the van battery, but not on it's own.

I hope you get it figured out soon. It's very stressful not being able to rely on your equipment.

 

[Jim Martin]

you need to put a meter on the battery and once it gets running see if it is taking a charge...
if it is and then it is not holding the charge it is the battery......If it is not taking a charge then I would look at the alternator...I would also check all my wiring for dirty or lose connections....bad ground.....there is really a small hand full of things that could cause this...

 

[Dolly Llama]

hummm, this is an odd one.
lets make sure we're all on the same page

Had a cleaning job about 2 weeks ago and it shut down on me half way through. Tried to restart it but wouldn't catch so I let it sit while I paced outside behind the van... After about 10 minutes it restarted and ran fine the rest of the job.

when you say it wouldn't "catch" do you mean the engine wouldn't turn over at all?
or it turned over and just wouldn't start?

This Friday, cleaning some furniture.. finished the couch and same thing happened. Tried to restart and the battery sounded like it was getting drained.

drained because it was cranking but not starting?

I let it rest for about 10 minutes, while I sat in the van to dry myself off a bit due to heavy rain. After about 15-20 minutes she started back up and I finished with no problems.

check all wiring connections first , Bill


..L.T.A.

 

[Captain Morgan]

when you say it wouldn't "catch" do you mean the engine wouldn't turn over at all?
or it turned over and just wouldn't start?

Turned over but just wouldn't start.

drained because it was cranking but not starting?

Correct

check all wiring connections first , Bill

It's at the top of my to do list Larry!

I'm thinking it's not grounded or the wiring got knicked somewhere, possibly when my blower was replaced. When Jim mentioned that, I recall the head mechanic at the place I've brought it for service, took a quick look at it and said it looked like it was missing the ground wire? He asked the owner (who I've decided is a total dooffus) and he rambled on about Steamway this and that... stuff that didn't make any sense as he ran up to his office to make some calls or hide. The major problem at that time was getting my flow switch fixed, so that is what they concentrated on... which they couldn't get fixed either. It fired once or twice and they handed me my bill and pushed me out the door.

Needless to say, when I got home the flow switch wouldn't fire. The flow switch is fixed now, but the battery not charging has been an issue ever since the reinstall. That's a little off track but it's theraputic for me to vent a bit. :mrgreen:

Jim, Larry, thanks for the suggestions. If anyone else has an idea, please feel free to add your $.02
Bill

 

[Dolly Llama]

when you say it wouldn't "catch" do you mean the engine wouldn't turn over at all?
or it turned over and just wouldn't start?

Turned over but just wouldn't start.

drained because it was cranking but not starting?

Correct
l

sounds like it's charging then, cause you don't have a dead battery

electrical isn't my strong suit.
Jim's the Sparky.
but seems something intermittent is causing it to lose spark
or possible fuel delivery probs


..L.T.A.

 

[Jim Martin]

run a separate ground from the machine to the body and then from the body to the frame.... and see if that helps you any....

 

[Loren Egland]

I see you have an 1150 A model. That would be the K582 Kohler motor? If it shuts off and will turn over but not start for a while until it cools down, I would check or replace the coil. Extremely quick and simple to do.

Once I had a short in my condensor that was hard to find. Wiggled the wire and there it was.

 

[Nate The Great]

Hey Bill, I replaced my voltage regulator. It had a fried pin. It took me about 5 mins to get the connection loose. Seems to be working ok (crossing fingers)... I too would jump it straight from the battery but was advised that it's not good for the small engines. It would start everytime from the van battery, but not on it's own.

I hope you get it figured out soon. It's very stressful not being able to rely on your equipment.

Turned out that I did fry both the voltage regulator and stator/coil...... Special thanks to Jim Martin, & FCC for the help. I have the coil on order. Repair shop wanted $201 for the coil and $220 for labor. The mchanic gave me the part# and told me to save myself $220 and do it myself, but I didn't hear that from him. FCC link for the replacement coil was only $135 with shipping. :wink:


Any status on your situation WJMorgan3?

 

[Captain Morgan]

Hey Nate,

I had a loose/defective ground connection.. that was the easy cheap quick fix. However, the mechanic tested the engine, he discovered that my starter had finally shit the bed. My battery was drained down next to nothing too, but he tested and charged it and said it is still good.

I ran it all day Saturday without issue. She was running awesome. Thank God for my Kohler Certified and Athorized lawnmower repairman down the road. Beats the hell out of wasting a day plus gas/tolls bringing it to the distributor 2.5 hours away I had been bringing it to who couldn't seem to fix anything.

Loren mentioned perhaps the coil could be the issue but it wasn't this time. I'll keep my eye on that for the future. She's running the best she has since I got her. Hopefully I can keep some of the money I've been making for myself instead of constantly repairing it.. oops oh yeah, too late...

I need to fix my soap tank.. It stopped drawing rinse/emulsifier so I've only been cleaning with a hot fresh water rinse... so far, no complaints.. the carpets look great. I know the parts are cheap to replace but I might just stick with the fresh water rinse and save money and skip buying emulsifier for a while, still undecided.

Glad to hear Jim and FCC where willing and able to help you fix your issues and save some coin too!! Guys like them and Larry aka Meat who has helped me a ton, is what makes this board so special and invaluable to newer cleaners like myself.

Bill

 

[BradFenstermaker]

Future reference for the old K582 PM's. If you take your coil to a harley shop they have a coil from early Bike that will be the same.

You have to drill two new holes so it lines up with your Engine's bracket.

I can get one any day of the week here from a place called Hawg Wild.

Something to look into, show the parts guy what it looks like by walking him to the van.

They are much cheaper as well.

Condsenor can be found at any mower repair shop.

 

[Captain Morgan]

Sweet info Brad, Thanks!! There are lots of HD shops around.
Bill